The New York Jets took a major step towards cleaning up their organization by parting ways with Aaron Rodgers, which they made official last Thursday after multiple NFL insiders broke the news hours before Super Bowl 59.
The fallout from the Aaron Rodgers experience will be an expensive one for the Jets. If they release Rodgers before June 1, 2025, it will result in them incurring a dead cap hit of $49 million. Trading him to another team seems next to impossible because of his age and the baggage he carries with him.
While the Jets organization will likely face a long road ahead cleaning up their salary cap mess, one player on the current roster who will likely benefit from Rodgers' departure is wide receiver Garrett Wilson.
Garrett Wilson is one of few bright spots on the Jets offense
As ESPN Jets reporter Rich Cimini wrote, the Jets accommodated Rodgers by acquiring basically any receivers from Green Bay he played with – this included Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams. The majority of touches also went to his ex-Packer receivers, at the expense of Wilson. It has been well known that both Wilson and Rodgers had tension between them and did not get along well during Rodgers' tenure.
Whoever the quarterback is next season, they also have left tackle Olu Fashanu, who they will build around. Said quarterback should have a reliable target in Wilson, who is coming off his third consecutive 1,000-yard season despite issues with Rodgers.
As a former Jets star himself, new head coach Aaron Glenn knows the organization better than anyone else, including the current owner, Woody Johnson. Both Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey were hired to clean up the mess Rodgers created on and off the field. Now, Wilson should be more open to signing a long-term deal rather than demand a trade this off-season had Rodgers stayed even for another year.
The Jets will likely have to take a calculated gamble at the quarterback next season. But they are counting on Wilson to step up now that he no longer has to deal with Rodgers and his former Packers receivers hoarding his touches.